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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra

Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra



Author(s): Taigen Dan Leighton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Date : 2008

First off, the other reviewer could probably have gotten his money back even today if he'd only asked. Why? Because there are two editions of this book on Kindle (!), and one of the samples clearly shows that it is the version that works properly on the Kindle. So defintiely make sure the one you buy is the right one, or ask them to refund that one and buy the other. Check the samples of each first to make sure that you detect the right one.

Secondly, this book deserves to be reviewed on its own merits. It's an academic, yet non-scholarly, study of the Lotus Sutra in relation to many various theories of hermaneutics and related movements in acedemic study of literature. While it does expand religious concepts within the Lotus Sutra, in a very concrete way, this is a literary, academic, or theory oriented study of the Lotus sutra that helps to explore areas of the text in much the way Dogen explores the Lotus sutra. This work also happens to explore Dogen's own personalized interpretations of the work which come through in the Shobogenzo, as well as helping us place into context his Hua Yen doctrinal background before coming to the Zen school.

I found it good as a meditation on the many aspects of the Lotus Sutra after having read the sutra. While the import may by moderate from a religious standpoint, I did find it helpful for illuminating various aspects in much the same way that a typical university religious lit intro class might do. If you're looking for a specifically religious-oriented study of the Lotus Sutra, this might not be the most appropriate "about-the-Lotus-Sutra" book for you.

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